Land Spray – Russian Ridge Open Space

Fog blows through the valleys in this extended exposure from Russian Ridge Open Space, California.

I love how long exposures is how they let us witness natural phenomena which occur on time and length scales that are difficult for us to observe. Take this image from the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Fog was creeping into a quiet valley in Russian Ridge Open Space. It just looked like fog to my naked eye, but the fading light of twilight required a long exposure. The extended exposure ended up revealing a more interesting interplay between land and air. The hills would disturb the air, pushing it upwards and causing additional fog to condense. The pattern continued until the air got blown over flatter ground, and had time to diffuse outward undisturbed, creating a uniform blanket. The phenomenon reminded me of the way mist is pulled off the tips of ocean waves by strong winds. I couldn’t see this connection in real time, but it was evident in the longer exposure.